Benjamin Franklin

It can be hard to find a worthwhile topic to write about when you are the Tired Midnight Blogger (What Blogs at Midnight). Today I was feeling much less than inspired, so I did a trick that likely is not as clever as I think it is. Often when I feel “stuck” I look up what is being searched on Google Trends. As often as not I come away with a topic I can feel passionate about. And if not, as often as not I find something to make fun of. So today I found that my good old Uncle Ben was in Google Trends. It warmed my heart to see a Founding Father there. So let’s see what there is to say about this topic.

As my nephew with the Masters in History would point out, neither Ken Burns nor David McCullough are true “historians.” But in my humble opinion, that does not entirely discredit their work. Rather like I’m not going to drastically criticize William Shakespeare for his historical plays because of anachronisms or inexactness in his timelines when after all….we’re talking about f—ing Shakespeare here.

I believe I have only seen a bit of this particular documentary. If memory serves, some few years before I finally left my ex wife, this came on, and I really wanted to watch it. PBS was doing one of their telethons, and she had been watching because of something they were selling Gaither records, and she allowed me to watch maybe twenty or thirty minutes of this. All I really remember was some letters written by soldiers to the wives they had left at home to join the fray.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/civil-war-soldiers-heartbreaking-farewell-letter-was-written-before-death-at-bull-run/2011/07/11/gIQAFe3MQI_story.html

It was heartbreakingly beautiful. Even my ex couldn’t quite ruin it, though the channel was turned after the letter.

So….while I understand why people in general are googling my uncle Ben, perhaps my twelve or so readers are curious why I care.

First of all, I actually am related to him. I joke about him being Uncle Ben, but the relation is obviously quite a bit further removed. I mean, yeah I’m fifty, but come on….

I don’t have the book in front of me, I think my mother has it. But one of my ancestors was a sergeant in the American Revolution, and spent the winter in Valley Forge with the Continental Army. His parents (or maybe grandparents) were Benjamin Franklin’s aunt and uncle. Small world huh?

The second reason my heart was warmed by the trend is…I think our nation is falling apart, and maybe….just maybe….if enough citizens learn what America is actually all about, maybe we can get this ship turned around before we hit the ice berg.

I’ve been haunted by the idea of America falling since I saw Red Dawn as a teenager. As a grownup I realize the movie is totally unbelievable. (Although having said that….the war in Ukraine might make me reevaluate how strong I think the Russian military is)…..I no longer believe a squad of teen kids could defeat the Russian army.

But as a kid I romanticized the idea. Fighting for my fallen nation, like the Jewish Zealots in the time of Christ. Winning back our liberty, building back better, with me, of coarse, as some kind of bigwig. Maybe a general.

All foolishness.

If you have some time to kill this weekend, log onto PBS.org and learn a bit about my Uncle Ben. Tell ’em the Tired Blogger sent ya.